Every Detail of Jesus’s Birth Was Part of God’s Plan

God’s Specific Promise

The book of Matthew provides us with one of the most familiar accounts in the Bible of the birth and infancy of Jesus:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

      ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
            are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
      for from you shall come a ruler
            who will shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matt. 2:1–6)

Don’t let the familiarity of this account cause you to rush over its hope-giving glory. When Herod went to Old Testament scholars to inquire where the promised Messiah was to be born, they had no problem answering. They immediately quoted Micah 5:2. Now, pause and think about this for a moment. It’s not just that the Messiah’s birth was promised in a general, nonspecific way. The promise of God, made through the prophet Micah many generations before, was specific—down to the exact town in which he would be born. The King of kings wouldn’t have a regal birth in a royal palace in Jerusalem, with an adoring court at his cradle. No, the hope of the world would be born in the town of Bethlehem to a mother and father who were far from the royalty of that day.

Every detail of Jesus’s birth was part of God’s plan before the foundations of the earth were set in place. So the promises and prophecies of his birth were detailed and specific. God is not like a fortune teller, delivering a safe, generic prediction. No, these promises were made by the Lord of heaven and earth, who rules everything, everywhere, all of the time. You see, the promises of God are only as good as the extent of his sovereignty, because he can guarantee the delivery of his promises only in situations over which he has rule. Because he rules everything, everywhere, all of the time, however, his promises are specific and rock-solid.

The specificity of God’s promise about where the Messiah would be born is a picture of how infinitely confident God is in his own ability to do whatever he has said he will do, wherever he said he will do it, and whenever he knows the time is right. You can bank on and build your life upon the promises of God. He has the power, willingness, and authority to do everything he has promised to do. It is so good to know today that you can absolutely trust that he will do what he has said he will do.

This article is adapted from Everyday Gospel: A Daily Devotional Connecting Scripture to All of Life by Paul David Tripp.

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